Track and Trace Conference highlights future of smart packaging

“Smart packaging isn’t just about packaging smarter. it is about governing smarter, trading smarter, and consuming smarter,” said Dr Ranjeet Mehta, CEO and secretary general of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), as he opened the forum. 

Framed around the theme, Empowering transparency: Smart packaging and phygital traceability for a resilient supply chain, the conference was a confluence of policymakers, tax administrators, packaging technologists, logistics experts, and multinational stakeholders. 

The tone was set by Hemant Jain, president, PHDCCI and managing director, KLJ Group of Companies, who noted in his presidential address that smart packaging was no longer confined to aesthetics or logistics. “We are at an inflection point where packaging has become a policy tool. It is carrying information that can decide the legitimacy of a product, ensure revenue for the state, and offer assurance to the consumer.”

Regulatory clarity and structured incentives, Jain argued, were crucial for mainstreaming traceability. This theme recurred across the day’s sessions.

Pramod Kumar Rai, chair, Indirect Taxes Committee, PHDCCI, emphasised the need for GST and customs frameworks to recognise and reward companies that implement robust traceability. “Our compliance systems must evolve to see traceability not just as a box to tick, but as a pillar of financial governance,” he said.

With the focus on standardisation, S Swaminathan, CEO, GS1 India, underlined the role of global product identifiers and data-sharing frameworks. “Traceability fails without interoperability,” he cautioned. “A common language across supply chains, from agri-exports to pharmaceuticals is what unlocks visibility.”

HE Muzafar Shah bin Mustafa, high commissioner, Malaysia, discussed the ASEAN region’s strides in customs automation and cross-border product traceability. “India has the technological capability to lead the region. A shared framework between our nations would serve both economic and security interests,” he said.

Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), linked traceability directly with national revenue assurance. “Illicit trade flourishes where visibility is weak. With phygital traceability, we can not only protect revenue but also modernise enforcement.”

The day’s chief guest, Ravneet Singh Bittu, minister of state for the ministry of food processing industries, government of India, spoke about traceability’s critical role in agri-value chains. “For our farmers and processors to access global markets, our food products must be trusted, and trust is built through verifiable data on origin, processing, and safety,” he said.

The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Jeevaraj Pillai, co-chair, PHDCCI and packaging committee, director at UFlex, who noted, “As packaging professionals, we are now part of the national compliance architecture. Traceability is our responsibility, and our opportunity.”

As discussions moved into the first thematic session, the focus shifted to the intersection of traceability with consumer engagement, anti-counterfeiting, and fiscal intelligence.

Amit Mohan Govil, director general, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), said, “From tax evasion to counterfeit products, opaque supply chains cost the economy dearly. Traceable systems turn every unit of product into a source of economic intelligence.”

Dr Sudhanshu, secretary, APEDA, said, “International buyers want assurance, about the origin, the safety, the certifications. Traceability through packaging allows our agri-products to travel further and faster.”

Anushree Lakshminarayanan, director, external affairs, IPM India, discussed the tobacco industry’s complex history with serialisation mandates. “We operate in a high-regulation space. Traceability has not only helped us meet compliance but also build consumer confidence and track illicit diversion.”

Adding a global lens, Dr Viktor Zemlicka, a Switzerland-based independent expert on secure supply chains, argued that digital traceability had become a form of “economic soft power.” “The countries that can demonstrate transparency and security in their exports will dominate tomorrow’s trade flows,” he asserted.

Rakesh Swami, group president, corporate affairs, Godrej Industries, highlighted changing consumer expectations. “We are entering an age where packaging is not just information, it is engagement.”

On the technology front, Prashant Kumar Gupta, chief business officer, Shriram Veritech, showcased how secure labels, unique identifiers, and real-time dashboards are already being deployed across industries. “We are bridging the physical and digital worlds. That’s what phygital traceability really is,” he said. 

Session Two shifted the spotlight to policy design, GST systems, and pharma compliance. Rajeev Ranjan, former special secretary, GST Council, argued that the GST infrastructure could serve as a robust traceability backbone. “We have built the pipes through e-invoicing, eWay bills, and audit trails. Now we need to connect the product-level data.”

Alok Kumar, EVP, GSTN, revealed that pilot programmes are underway to integrate traceability inputs with tax data. “The future lies in predictive audits, where anomalies are flagged before damage is done,” he said.

The pharmaceutical sector featured prominently. Arvind Kumar Gupta, assistant commissioner (drugs), government of Uttar Pradesh, stated that India cannot afford gaps in its medical supply chains. “Spurious drugs are not just a legal concern, they’re a threat to human lives. Traceability is critical.”

Akhlaas Ahmed, AVP, supply chain, Mankind Pharma, discussed how technology adoption in serialisation has become central to the company’s packaging innovation strategy. “We have moved from compliance to capability. Now, traceability is part of our brand protection.”

Nakul Pasricha, managing director and CEO of PharmaSecure, added, “Technology exists to make serialisation cost-effective for every pharma manufacturer, from big firms to rural suppliers.”

From a standards perspective, Ankit Arora, senior manager, GS1 India, reiterated the need for consistency. “If we can standardise identifiers, systems, and reporting, we can eliminate redundancy and enable real-time interoperability across departments.”

The final session turned toward the integration of eCommerce, real-time data, and next-generation packaging. Abhai Kumar Srivastav, director general, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), addressed the audience with clarity: “Every fake product that enters the supply chain weakens the economy and endangers the consumer. Phygital track and trace systems are our best defence.”

From the policymaking front, Ishtiyaque Ahmad, programme director, Niti Aayog, shared the government's intent to create unified traceability standards across sectors. “Whether it's a bag of rice or a mobile phone, we want traceability systems to be interoperable. That is our Viksit Bharat vision,” he said.

Diwakar Bhardwaj, president,  automation and brand protection, Polycab India, shared how the company is embedding unique identities at the production level. “Our cables are tagged and trackable from factory to site. It’s how we guarantee safety and quality.”

From the eCommerce sector, Sumit Kapoor, customer trust manager, Amazon India, outlined how traceability is critical for high-volume, high-risk categories. “We’ve moved from random sampling to intelligent trace-based interventions. Smart packaging reduces both fraud and returns.”

Pratap Singh Chauhan, head, exim,  Jindal Stainless, added an exporter’s view: “Green steel certifications, recycled content, everything needs to be verifiable at customs. Smart labels are now tied to ESG.”

Concluding the final session, Rahul Gupta, senior vice-president, Bar Code India, urged convergence: “Don’t treat packaging, compliance, and branding as separate lanes. With traceability, they merge into one ecosystem of trust.”
The Track and Trace Conference 2025 reinforced a singular truth: in the modern economy, transparency is infrastructure. Whether it’s printed codes, smart labels, or interoperable databases, every component of packaging is now a conduit for information, compliance, and trust.

For the Indian print and packaging industry, this transformation offers a mandate and a market. With stakeholders aligned across policy, trade, and technology, the roadmap is clear: traceability is no longer a trend, it’s a standard.